Crossbow
Summary A crossbow is a type of elastic ranged weapon in similar principle to a bow, consisting of a bow-like assembly mounted horizontally on a main frame called a tiller, which is handheld in a similar fashion to the stock of a long gun. It shoots arrow-like projectiles called bolts or quarrels. The medieval European crossbow was called by many other names, most of which were derived from the word ballista, an ancient Greek torsion siege engine similar in appearance. Crossbows differs to bows in that the a bow's draw must be maintained manually by the archer pulling the bowstring with fingers, arm and back muscles and holding that same form in order to aim (which demands significant physical strength and stamina), while a crossbow uses a locking mechanism to maintain the draw, limiting the shooter's exertion to only pulling the string into lock and then release the shot via depressing a lever/trigger. Historically, crossbows played a significant role in the warfare of East Asia and Medieval Europe. The earliest crossbows in the world were invented in ancient China and caused a major shift in the role of projectile weaponry. Powers and Stats Tier: At least 10-C, possibly 9-C Name: Crossbow, bowgun Origin: The Real World Classification: Crossbow, ranged weapon Powers and Abilities: Fires a high velocity projectile which hits the body and produces a large pressure against it, thus causing injury and possibly death. Attack Potency: At least Below Average level (Potential energy stored at a hand-spanned crossbow is roughly 11.78 Joules), likely much higher with advanced models and especially winch-spanned crossbows; possibly Street level (Most bolts could pass through or even break common mail, which could defend against conventional medieval weapons like daggers, broadswords and even longswords) Speed: Subsonic (A 10gr bolt can be fired at around 48.53 m/s) Wielders: Ancient soldiers (esp. untrained conscript soldiers) and horse archers, modern hunters, some anti-terrorist police, army forces and scientists Range: Effective range is at least 50 yards (45.72 meters), farther with a scope and excellent marksmanship. Weaknesses: 1. It is more expensive to create one crossbow than to create a longbow. However, such cost can be compensated by the fact that it is less expensive to train a person to use a crossbow than to use a longbow. 2. Its reload time is generally longer than a longbow. Reload time is even slower with a winch-spanned crossbow than with a hand-spanned crossbow. A direct comparison between a fast hand-drawn replica crossbow and a longbow shows a 6:10 rate of shooting within 51 seconds or a 4:9 rate within 30 seconds and comparable weapons. 3. It is generally heavier than a longbow. Crossbows have a much smaller draw length than bows with similar weights. This means that for the same energy to be imparted to the arrow (or bolt), the crossbow has to have a higher draw weight and therefore a much higher overall weight. Notes: 1. In modern times, crossbows, like bows, have been largely supplanted by the more powerful and accurate firearms in most weapon roles, but are still widely used for scientific research, competitive shooting sports, hunting and scenarios when shooting with relative silence is important. (Notable models include the Mission Sub-1) 2. Crossbow bolts can be fitted with a variety of heads, some with sickle-shaped heads to cut rope or rigging; but the most common today is a four-sided point called a quarrel. A highly specialized type of bolt is employed to collect blubber biopsy samples used in biology research. The Indian Navy's Marine Commando Force were equipped until the late 1980s with crossbows supplied with cyanide-tipped bolts, as an alternative to suppressed handguns. Category:Weapons Category:Real World Category:Inanimate Objects Category:Tier 10 Category:Tier 9